Bottle-capping machine



NOV. 4, 1930. c WOQDMAN 1,780,327

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

C. B. WooDMAN.

NOV. 4, 1930. c, WQODMAN 1,780,327

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1? WW WW!!! a '1 C. B. WOODMAN HTTP.

Nov. 4, 1930. c WOODMAN 1,780,327

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 llVl/E/Y TOR.

C. B. WOODMAN Patented Nov. 4, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMMODORE IB. WOODMAN, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO OSCAR HOFFMAN, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINE Application filed July 14, 1928. Serial No. 292,750.

My invention relates to improvements in bottle capping mechanism wherein feeding mechanism is attached upon the plunger and die of a bottle capping machine and arranged to be automatically operated to feed caps from a magazine detachably carried by the feeding mechanism to the capping die at each operation thereof.

The primary object of my inventionis to provide improved bottle capping mechanism provided with feeding mechanism operating to automatically feed caps to the capping mechanism.

Another object is to provide an automatic feeding mechanism attachable upon the plunger and die of a hand operated capping machine for feeding caps to said machine.

A further object is to provide an improved feeding mechanism which is simple and positive in its action and which operates efiiciently to deliver caps singly to the capping mechanlsm.

Another'object is to provide an improved feeding'mechanism wherein fresh supplies of caps may be easily and simply supplied.

A further object is to provide an improved mechanism of the character described wherein the feeding mechanism may be arranged to be operated at a desired point relative to the movement of the capping plunger and die.

I Another object is to provide an improved feeding device wherein caps may be fed from a detachable magazine which may be econically provided as a shipping and storage container for said caps until required for use.

I accomplish these and other objects by means of the improved device disclosed in the drawings forming a part of the present application wherein like characters of reference are used to designate similar parts throughout the specification and drawings and in which- Fig. 1 is a broken side elevation of a bottle capping machine provided with my improved cap feeding mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the magazine;

Fig. is'a plan View of the capping chine and feeding mechanism, parts being broken away;

Fig. i is a broken front elevation of the feeding mechanism as applied upon the cap ping machine;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of the feeding mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the feeding mechanism as shown in Fig. 5;

7 is a longitudinal vertical section similar to Fig. 5 with the feeding member in advanced posi ion;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section taken upon tie line 88 of Fig. 5 in the direction indicated;

9 is a bottom view of the feeding mechanism as shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a transverse section taken upon the line lO lO of Fig. 7 in the direction in dicated; and

Fig. 11 is a broken plan view of a portion of the feeding member showing the manner in which said member operates to release the caps.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 is used to designate in general a bottle capping machine provided with a plunger 2 having capping die 3 mounted thereon and arranged to be operated by means of a lever at secured to shaft-5 having a gear portion 6 meshing with a rack 7 formed upon the stem of the plunger 2 whereby the plunger and die may be moved vertically to press a cap 8 onto the mouth of a bottle indicated in dotted lines at 9 in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The bottle capping mechanism itself is well known in the art, caps being commonly applied manually and the die pressed downwardly to crimp the cap onto the mouth of the bottle in a well known manner.

In my, present invention 1 provide feeding mechanism attachable upon the plunger and die of a capping machine 1 such as above briefly described, said feeding mechanism comprising a bracket 11 having extensions 12 arranged to fit around the die portion 3 of the plunger 2, said extensions being clamped around said die portion by means of a clamp ing member 13. The bracket extends horinontally outwardly from side of the plunger and die and is provided upon its upper surface with a socket 14- arranged to receive the end of a cylindrical magazine 16 arranged to contain a supply of bottle caps 8, the socket being made to loosely receive the sions 21 extending downwardly from the sides of said bracket. The member 17 consists of a body portion having downwardly turned sides 22 slidably engaged between the flanges 18 and 19, and central longitudinal rib 23. A plate 2% is hingedly connected to the forward end of the feeding member 17 to form a forward extension thereof. The plate is arranged with its upper surface offset below the upper surface of the body portion of the member 17, and is preferably hinged to the adjacent end of the rib 23.

An arm 26 is pivotally mounted upon the bracket 11. The arm is shaped to provide a bearing portion extending across the inner end of the bracket, and an upwardly curved portion extending along the back side of the bracket, the extreme outer end of the arm being shaped to extend under the bracket. A link 27 is pivotally connected between the outer end of the arm 26 and the rib 23 whereby a pivotal movement of the arm will operetc to move the feeding member. A trip 28 is secured upon the frame of the machine 1 and provided with a roller 29 arranged to be en gaged by the upwardly curved portion of the arm 26 when the plunger 2 is moved upward ly to its extreme upward position, the upward movement of the arm 26 against the trip 28 operating to swing the arm 26 pivotally upon its bearing portion and thereby advance the feeding member relative to the bracket 11. A suitable spring 31 is mounted upon the bracket in connection with the arm 26 to return said arm to normal position and retract the feeding member when the plunger is lowered. 'The trip 28 is preferably adjustably secured by a suitable securing screw 30 where by the position may be adjusted to operate the feeding member at a desired point.

The feeding member 17 is so arranged that when in normal retracted position the hinged extension 2 1 will be disposed directly below the open lower end of' the socket 141: and magazine 16 so as to receive a cap 8 from the ma azine and support the same within the bracket with the top of the cap slightly below the upper surface of the body portion of the member 17. When the feeding member 17'is advanced, the'body portion of said memher is advanced under the magazine to receive caps therefrom.

A pair of cap engaging arms 32 are pivotally mounted within the side of the bracket 11 upon pivot pins 33, said arms extending longitudinally from the outer end of the bracket topoints slightly in advance of the socket 14. The free ends of the arms 32 are curved slightly outwardly and arranged to be received within openings 3% formed in the sides of the sleeve forming the socket 1 L. Slots 36 are formed longitudinally in the ends of the arms'adjacent the openings 84. A spring 37 is connected between the arms 32 to normally hold the ends of the arms against the sides of the sleeve, the curved ends of the arm being arranged to extend across the sides of the socket slightly inwardly from the walls thereof thereby normally limiting the downward movement of caps 8 from the magazine and supporting the caps within the magazine.

Rollers 38 are mounted upon mounting brackets 39 secured upon the ends of thearms 32, said rollers and brackets being movable outwardly through openings 41 formed in the sides of the bracket 11. The rollers are arranged. to be engaged by inwardly turned projections 42 formed upon the inner end of the body portion of the feeding member 17 and arranged to press the rollers and the arms 32 outwardly when the feeding member is advanced to feed a cap to the capping mechanism. a Y

A pair of spring. guides 43 are mounted upon the lower side of the bracket 11, said guides being shaped to extend in inclined relation from the edges of the flange portions 19 to the-die 3 and across the under side of the die adjacent the edge thereof.

The magazine 16 consists of a tubular member of adiameter adapted to receive the caps 8 and of a length adapted to accommodate a substantial supply. of the caps. The magazine is preferablyformed from bendable material such'as cardboard, light sheet metal or the like, such as can be manufactured economically as a container for packing the caps for commercial purposes, the ends of the tubular member being provided with tabs 4 1 inwardly turned to no mally retain the caps within the magazine. The magazine is formed from a blank struck from suitable sheet material, a plurality of openings 16 be ing formed in the blank to provide plurality of vertically spacedwindows through which the contents of the magazine may be noted.

In operation my improved feeding mechanism, constructed and applied upon a bot: tle capping machine as shown and described, operates as follows:

A magazine 16 of caps 8 is opened by bending the tabs il outwardly atthe bottom end of the magazine to permit the caps to move outwardly from the bottom of themagazine member -17. the projections 42 move into engagement with the rollers 38 and press said rollers and the when set within the socket 14 as shown. hen now the plunger 2 is moved upwardly to its extreme upper position as defined by arms 32 outwardly sufficiently to cause the curved portions of said arms to be moved from under the lower-most cap 8 of the maga- "zine, thereby permitting the caps to drop downwardly and be supported upon the upper surface of the bodyportion of the member 17 as indicated. in Figs. 7 and 10. When now the plunger 2 and die 3 is lowered,

in applying a cap, the arm 26 is moved away from the trip 28 and said arm and the feeding member 17 will be retracted to normal As the feeding engage the rollers 38 and permit the arms 32 to be moved inwardly by the spring 37 while the caps are yet supported upon the outward ly moving feeding member. The slots 36 are so formed that the lower edge of the slot'will move directly under the lower edge of the cap 8 immediately above the lowermost cap which, as stated, rests upon the member 17, and at the same time the upper edges of the arms 32 are moved directly under the edge of the next higher cap, the: lower edge of each slot and the upper edge of each arm operating as supports upon which the caps rest as the member 17 is moved to its extreme outer position. The upper edge of each slot 36 is arched slightly whereby a slight wedge action is obtained to insure the separation of the caps.

As the feeding member reaches its extreme out-er position, the lowermost cap drops from the upper surface of the body portion onto the hinged extension plate 24 as shown in Figs. 5 and 8 of the drawings. the caps thereabove being supported by the arms 32 as above described. When now the plunger 2 and die 3 is again raised, the feeding member is advanced as above described and the cap 8 resting upon the extension 24 is carried forwardly to the die 3. V enters the die," as indicated in Fig. 7. the plate 24 isswung upwardly by the spring "guides 43 and the cap is pressed into the recessed lower face of the die until fully received therein as indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. hen the plunger and die is now lowered, the extension plate 24 is retracted from under-the die and the cap 8 is held in engagement. with the die by the ends of the spring guides 43. Asthe plunger and. die is further lowered, the feeding member is retracted to drop another cap 8 as above described, and the die ismoved to clamp the As the cap 8 I The above operation may be repeated as often and as rapidly as desired, a cap being automatically fed to the die at each operation and insuring a simple and efiicient means for capping bottles.

The device, while illustrated only as applied'upon one common type of bottle capping machine, may be applied equally well to machines ofothertypes. The magazines 16 are of standard diameter, and may be made of various lengths to provide different quantities of caps, the contents being observable through the windows 46 so that the number of caps remaining in the magazine can be estimated at any time. i

lVhil'e I have illustrated and described only what I now regard as the preferred em bodiment of my invention, the specific details of construction and arrangement areof course'subject to modification in numerous ways without departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore do not wish to restrict myself to the specific details illustrated and described, but desire to avail myself of all modifications which may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a bottle capping machine having a plunger and die movable to press a cap onto the mouth of a bottle, of a bracket mounted in connection with the plunger; a. magazine mounted upon the bracket and arranged to contain a supply of caps; a member'slidably mounted upon the bracket and movable to carry caps from the magazine to the die, said member havinga body portion and a hinged extension offset below the surface of the body'portion to re ceive a cap; actuating means for reciprocating said member as the plunger is raised and lowered; and means supporting the caps within the magazine and actuated to release the lowermost capinto engagement with the hinged extension eachtime the member is reciprocated. f

2. The combination with a bottle capping machine having a plunger and die movable to press a cap ontothe mouth of a bottle, of a bracket mounted in connection with the plunger; a magazine mounted upon the bracket and arranged to contain'a supply'of caps; a member slidablyumounted upon the bracket and movable to carry caps from the magazine to' the die, said member having a body portion and a hinged extension offset below the surface ofthe body portion toreceive a cap; actuating means for reciprocating saidmember as the plunger is raised and lowered; means supporting the caps within the magazine and actuated to release the lowermost cap 1nto engagement with the hinged extension each time the member is reciprocated; and spring guides arranged to press the hinged extension against the die and to retain the cap in engagement with the die when said extension is retracted.

3. The combination with a bottle capping machine having a plunger and die movable to press a cap onto the mouth of a bottle, of a bracket mounted in connection with the plunger; a magazine mounted upon the bracket and arranged to contain a supply of caps; a member slidably mounted upon the bracket and movable to carry caps from the magazine to the die, said member having a body portion and a hinged extension ofis'et below thesurface of the body portion to receive a cap; actuating means for reciprocating said member as the plunger is raised and lowered; a pair of arms mounted within the sides of the bracket immediately above the slidable member, said arms being arranged to engage caps at the bottom of the magazine to support the caps within the magazine and to be spread to release the lowermost cap into engagement with the slidable member each time said member is reciprocated.

4. The combination with a bottle capping machine having a plunger and die movable to press a cap onto the mouth of a bottle; a

:bracket mounted in connection with the plunger; a magazine mounted upon the bracket and arranged to contain a supply of caps; a member slidably mounted upon the bracket and movable to carry caps from the magazine to the die, said member having a body portion and a hinged extension; actuating means for reciprocating said member as the plunger is raised and lowered; a pair of spring actuated arms mounted within the sides'of the'bracket immediately above the slidable member, said arms being arranged to engage caps at the bottom of the magazine to support the caps withinthe magazine; and means connected to the arms and engaged by the slidable member for spreading said arms to release the lowermost cap into engagement with the slidable member each time said memberis reciprocated.

5. The combination with a bottle capping machine having a plunger and die movable topress a'cap onto the mouth of a bottle; a bracket mounted in connection with the plunger; a magazine mounted upon the bracket and arranged to contain a supply of caps; a member slidably mounted upon the bracket and movable to carry caps from the magazine to the die, said member having a body portion and a hinged extension; actuating means for reciprocating said member as the plunger is raised and lowered; a pair ofspring actuated arms mounted within the sides of the bracket immediately above the slidablemember, said arms being. arranged to engage caps at the bottom of the magazine to support the caps within the magazine; means connected to the arms and engaged by the slidable member for spreading said arms to release the lowermost cap into engagement with the slidable member each time said member is reciprocated; and spring guides arranged to press the hinged extensions upwardly against the bottom of the die to position a cap thereon and to retain said cap when the hinged extension is retracted.

'6. The combination with a bottle capping machine having a plunger and die movable to press a cap onto the mouth of a bottle; a bracket mounted in connection with the plunger; a magazine mounted upon the bracket and arranged to contain a supply of caps; a member slidably mounted upon the bracket and movable to carry caps from the magazine to the die, said member having a body portion and a hinged extension; actuating means for reciprocating said member as the plunger is raised and lowered; a pair of spring actuated arms mounted within the sides of the bracket immediately above the slidable member, said arms being arranged to engage caps at the bottom of the magazine to support the caps within the magazine; means connected to the arms and engaged by the slidable member for spreading said arms to release the lowermost cap into on gagement with the slidable member each time said member is reciprocated; spring guides arranged'to press the hinged extension upwardly against the bottom of the die to position a cap thereon and to retain said cap when the hinged extension is retracted; and an adjustable trip arranged to operate the actuating means when the plunger is raised to a desired point.

7. A feeding attachment for bottle cappers comprising a bracket arranged to be attached upon the plunger and die of a bottle capper; a magazine mounted upon the bracket and arranged to contain a supply of bottle caps; a feeding member slidably mounted upon the bracket and arranged to be reciprocated to feed caps to the die as said die is moved to its extreme position out of engagementwith a bottle, said member comprising a body portion and an extension offset below the upper surface of the body portion; cap engaging means mounted within the sides of the bracket adjacent the lower end of the magazine to engage the lowermost caps and to normally support the caps within the magazine; means carried by the cap engaging means and actuated by the feeding member for spreading said engaging means to release the caps and permit the same to drop onto the body portion of the feeding member when said member is advanced, the lowermost cap being moved onto the ofiset extension and the cap engaging means being moved back into engagement with the caps immediately above said lowermost cap when the feeding member is retracted, said lowermost cap being delivered to the die when the feeding member is neXt advanced; and means for retaining caps in engagement with the die while said die is being moved to press the cap onto a bottle.

8. A feeding attachment for bottle cappers comprising a bracket arranged to be attached upon the plunger and die of a bottle capper; a magazine mounted upon the bracket and arranged to contain a supply of bottle caps; a feeding member slidably mounted upon the bracket and consisting of a body portion and a hinged extension ofiset below the upper surface of the body portion; an arm pivotally mounted upon the bracket; a link connected between the arm and the feeding member; a trip arranged to move the arm to advance the feeding member when the plunger and die is moved to its uppermost position; means for retracting the feeding member when the plunger and die is lowered; cap engaging means mounted upon the bracket adjacent the lower end of the magazine to engage the lowermost caps and to normally support the caps within the magazine; means actuated by the feeding member for spreading the cap engaging means to release the caps when the feeding member is advanced, said caps being lowered onto the body of the feeding member and the lowermost cap being dropped onto the olfset extension when the member is retracted, and the cap engaging means being moved to engage the caps immediately thereabove.

9. A feeding attachment for bottle cappers comprising a bracket arranged to be attached upon the plunger and die of a bottle capper; a magazine mounted upon the bracket and arranged to contain a supply of bottle caps; a feeding member slidably mounted upon the bracket and consisting of a body portion and a hinged extension offset below the upper surface of the body portion; an arm pivotally mounted upon the bracket; a link connected between the arm and the feeding member; a trip arranged to move the arm to advance the feeding member when the plunger and die is moved to its uppermost position; means for retracting the feeding member when the plunger and die is lowered; cap engaging means mounted upon the bracket adjacent the lower end of the magazine to engage the lowermost caps and to normally support the caps within the magazine; means actuated by the feeding member for spreading the cap engaging means to release the caps when the feeding member is advanced, said caps being lowered onto the body of the feeding memher and the lowermost cap being dropped onto the offset extension when the member is retracted, and the cap engaging means being moved to engage the caps immediately thereabove; and means for guiding the exnature.

COMMODORE B. WOODMAN. 

